Moore, R.
C. (2004). Communications Seminar. Unpublished course syllabus,
Elizabethtown College, Department of Communications.
Comm. 485--Communications Seminar Course Syllabus
Course
Description
At
Elizabethtown College, Com 485, Communications Seminar (4 semester credits) is
the final or capstone course required of all majors. The course is intended to provide an opportunity for the
integration of coursework, knowledge, skills, and experiential learning. The student is expected to analyze and
synthesize past learning and relate it to issues and problems in
Communications. The student is to
demonstrate a broad mastery of professional expectations for a promise of
initial employability, further learning, and career advancement. The course is intended to not only
permit the integration of oral, written and media projects, but also to provide
for the opportunity to research and plan a major study or produce a major
project and make a public presentation to the campus community. Class meetings focus on assisting
students in establishing a professional identity while individual conferences
routinely discuss project planning, progress and problems.
Goal
The
capstone course integrates course work, knowledge, skills, and experiential
learning to demonstrate mastery of learning for initial employability and a
promise for further career development.
It employs critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving
strategies, effective writing, effective oral communication, quantitative and
qualitative analysis, computer literacy, library competency and mediated
communications, related to a student's communications concentration and
specific career plans.
The
capstone course is designed to help the student achieve the following outcomes:
„ Work independently and develop a keen sense of time management and project management.
„ Enhance skills in
written, spoken and visual communications.
„ Evaluate and process
learning, find similarities, draw distinctions, synthesize concepts, and create
new ideas through the selection, research, presentation, and defense of a
senior project.
„ Develop a professional
identity exemplifying knowledge, skills, values and attitudes appropriate to
their career path through an experiential learning opportunity.
„ Develop an informed
sense of design and production and to use a variety of forms of mediated
communication effectively.
„ Clearly define the characteristics, skills and abilities of their chosen career area.
„ Formulate a statement and rationale of preferred employment in
Communications.
„ Prepare an acceptable rsum and portfolio for employment and prepare for employment interviews.
Course
Requirements
Project Management
Shortly
after the beginning of the semester, each student selects a ŅclientÓ with whom
they will work, for the entire semester, on developing and producing a major
project for use by that organization.
Contacts, selection of a client, as well as topic of the project, are
the individual responsibility of the student. The professor maintains possible client leads, but formal
contact and interviewing is required in order for the student to be ŅhiredÓ to
produce the project. Final
approval of the client and project rest with the faculty member. During the course of the semester,
formally written outlines and updates are submitted to the instructor. These reports include the
following: a progress report, the
journal of client meetings (specifying details of discussions and decisions,)
storyboards, scripts, project time lines, a daily log of activities working on
the project, and other items as necessary.
Literature Search
(mid-term research paper)
The formal research undertaken to formulate a foundation for the project (a literature review of approximately 20 pages) is due as a mid-term paper. This paper constitutes an initial draft of Chapter 1 and 2 of the final thesis. Only working references may be cited with a minimum of 10 well-balanced sources drawn from the last ten years.
Senior Thesis, Client Project And Oral Defense
The
final project is a formal client project arranged with a particular business,
corporation, agency, etc. Contacts
and selection of a client, as well as topic, is the responsibility of the
student. However, both the client
and instructor must approve the project.
A copy of a letter outlining project requirements from the client must
be submitted to the instructor with the proposal.
This
course final requirement is actually made up of three parts. First, the student undertakes major
research on the theory and foundations of such a project. Second, based on the research, the
student writes, designs, creates, etc., the project and/or program for the
client. Thirdly, the student presents
an oral and mediated defense of the research and project.
The Thesis.
The student submits a formally written thesis. It consists of six chapters: 1) an introduction and
description of the client and project; 2) the formal research undertaken to
formulate a foundation for the project; 3) an analysis and description, of the
pre-planning of the project, as it relates to the literature search; 4)
discussion of project design, creation, and production; how and why the project
and its components were properly produced; 5) evaluation and
summary/conclusion. Chapter 5 must
address formative evaluation (procedures and results) and summative evaluation
(short-term procedures and results.)
A long-term summative evaluation plan is also to be developed. Focus groups are to be held as
part of evaluation. In the
summary, the student should note areas of improvement, strengths and weaknesses
of the project. In the conclusion,
the student evaluates the experience, class-client relationship, etc. 6) The appendix includes all previously
mentioned project management reports.
The
Client Project. The project is
submitted in its original medium and must be fully completed by the date of the
oral defense. Project clients
write verification letters to the professor that: 1) verify that the project has been completed; 2) evaluate
the quality of the project; and 3) evaluate the performance of the student.
The Oral Defense. The above thesis/project is presented to department faculty, interested students, members of the campus community, family, and guests. A 20-minute minimum (and 30-minute maximum) presentation is delivered accompanied by demonstrations, selected screenings (excerpts), or other appropriate materials describing or demonstrating the project.
Oral Presentation of Research
Each student presents one oral report during the course of the semester concerning an issue or concern from the review of literature. The report is to be a product of research from a well-balanced selection of sources within the last ten years. The oral presentation is 5-8 minutes long.
Professional Identity
Rsum. Each student develops a formally
planned and prepared rsum.
Portfolio. Each student, based upon personal
strengths and expertise, as indicated in the rsum, prepares a comprehensive
professional portfolio of communications skills and abilities reflecting their
education within the major.
In
grading all of the above course requirements, the instructorÕs focus is on the
display of a high level of knowledge and the application of it to a high level
of professional production and performance. Societal implications and ethical considerations are
addressed in evaluations, as are the craft and skill in designing and
developing messages. Students are
to bring to the course knowledge and information from a several disciplines and
show the application of that learning to their particular problem.
Each
of the requirements is weighted differently in calculating the final course
grade. The project, research
paper and oral defense make up 45% of the grade. The remaining portion of the grade is drawn from the
mid-term literature review, the portfolio, the rsum, and the oral
presentation of research.
Guide for Client Project Proposal
Overview
Background
of client (Name, Location, Type of Business, etc.)
Current
status of a problem, issue or concern that is to be addressed by the project.
Goal
The
single most important goal or solution to the problem. The clientÕs stated purpose
for the project. The reason why
the client wants the project to be done and
the expected outcome or solution desired.
Objectives
Several independent items that the client has
established as things to be addressed or included in order to meet the project
goal. That is, specifics that the
project will do/include that, when accomplished, will result in solving the
problem.
Pre-Production
Strategies
Specific
elements or approaches to the project that, when completed, will achieve each of the above objectives
and in turn effect the solution to the problem. The areas
addressed here are planning, data gathering, and project design necessary to begin production.
Production
Activities
A detailed list of all of the production activities
that must be done in order to complete each objective (and therefore meet the
clientÕs goal for the project.)
Evaluation
Planned activities to be undertaken to determine the
appropriateness of the design and production of the project. These include both
formative and summative evaluations.
Summative evaluations will include short-term evaluation of the
production and the suitability of the strategies employed. Long-term evaluations to measure the
success of the project often cannot be completed in the time frame of the
course. Specific evaluation plans
are to be developed.
Subject
A written statement describing the clientÕs problem
in its simplest terms. What is to
be addressed by the project? Who
is the audience? What is its goal
or purpose of the project?
Area
of Study
Generally refers to the studentÕs concentration or
area of study within the major.
This provides the focus or angle to the project and sets the tone for
the research.
Topic
Functionally, the topic of the research is narrowed
at this stage. Drawn from the
above two items, this is a statement that specifically indicates the areas of literature
to be investigated.
Research
Question
A
question which integrates the above information and the goal of the
research. What one expects to learn from the
research study. The question sets
a theme for the
research that helps the student focus only on key elements of research.
Research
Components
A
prioritized listing of 3-5 key elements, drawn from the research question, that
must be
researched for a complete inquiry.
They include: discipline related material,
project management and design literature, specific production materials, and project
distribution/implementation literature including planned evaluation.
Thesis
An
integrated statement that indicates the specific nature and direction of the research. The statement cites the problem and the
key areas of research that will
lead to the conceptual design and production of the project.
1.
Problem Statement and
purpose of the project. Specify
the type of project to be created
(Information/Entertainment, Training/Instructional, Sales/Promotional,
etc.)
2.
Goal: The measurable solution to the
problem. The clientÕs stated
purpose for the project.
3.
Objectives: Content solutions to achieve the
goal. A listing of specific items
that the project will do/include that, when accomplished, will result in the
solution to the problem.
4.
Audience Profile.
5.
Method of Presentation
or format of the project.
6.
Treatment (to include
the following)
Concept
(Storyline)
Format (Media Chosen)
Content (Storyboard, Script)
Talent (List & Character Description.)
Budget
7. Evaluation
Summative Evaluation. Short Term and Long Term evaluation activities.
(Moore, R. C.
(2004). Communications
Seminar. Unpublished course
syllabus, Elizabethtown College, Department of Communications.)